Journalists shocked by publication of data on their colleagues on Ukrainian website – statement

Journalists of Ukrainian and foreign media have criticized the actions of Ukrainian politicians and authors of the Myrotvorets (Peacemaker) website, who published the data on journalists who got accredited in the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic.”

The statement was released on the website of Ukrainian Hromadske.tv.  

“The Ukrainian and foreign journalists, who risked their lives to cover the events impartially and told what was happening in the occupied territories in Ukrainian and international media, were exposed to attack. In particular, it is thanks to their work we found out about the Vostok battalion, crimes of militant known as Motorola and other militants, supply of Russian weapons and many other important facts,” the statement reads.

As stated in the appeal, the journalists need accreditation from the illegal armed groups for protection as, according to the international organizations, 80 journalists were held by militants only in 2014.

“We particularly emphasize that accreditation does not mean and has never meant cooperation of journalists with any party to the conflict. Accreditation is a form of protection and safety of journalists,” the journalists stressed.

The appeal was signed by 25 journalists and representatives of media organizations, including Andriy Kulikov, Iryna Slavinska (Hromadske Radio), Pavlo Kanyhin (Novaya Gazeta), Oksana Romaniuk (Reporters Without Borders), Otar Dovzhenko (UCU School of Journalism) Simon Ostrovskiy (Vice News), Noah Sneider (The Economist), Natalia Humenyuk, Anastasia Stanko (Hromadske TV) and others.

As reported, the Myrotvorets (The Peacemaker) website, which publishes the personal data of “separatists”, made public the information about the journalists who have got accredited in the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic.”

 It contains the personal data of journalists working for BBC, Reuters, AFP, The Independent, Ceska televize, CNN, Bloomberg, Aljazeera, AP, Liberation, ITAR-TASS, RT and other media.